Today Square Enix issued a revised financial forecast for the six-month period ending September 30 thanks to streamlined operations and better than anticipated sales for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Square also cited increased sales of arcade machines and better sales of some unnamed titles in North America.

However, Square stopped short of revising its year-end forecast due to "uncertainties in the second half of the fiscal year."

Our Take:

While this slight bump in forecasts is a small positive for a company that has faced a challenging year, Final Fantasy XIV still has a long way to go before becoming a profitable venture. Remember, this game was alluded to for the first time in 2005, and Square blamed the first version of the game for a 92-percent drop in its earnings forecast back in 2010. Given the positive reaction the rebooted game has received even by players who hated the first iteration, here's hoping it can continue the positive trend and recoup some of the massive investment.